A tale of two ARPA budgets – Council approves their ARPA budget and rejects the Mayor’s
By Tom Travis In Monday's meeting City Council approved their version of a budget to spend the remaining $60 million of the $94 million American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds. Back in June the Mayor and his administration had presented their version of an ARPA...
Education Beat Analysis: Two board meetings — UM Regents, Flint Board of Education — reveal stark contrasts of function, dysfunction
By Harold C. Ford [Editor’s note: Harold C. Ford, Education Beat writer for East Village Magazine (EVM) for nearly six years, attended two education board meetings within 24 hours. He was present at the University of Michigan (UM) Board of Regents meeting, held in...
Whitmer touts infrastructure, public safety, reproductive rights protection in Flint campaign rally with powerhouse Democratic lineup
By Tom Travis "Are we gonna go backward or are we gonna put our foot on the gas?" Gov. Gretchen Whitmer asked a crowd of about 75 gathered for a campaign rally Friday at Union City Ball Park on Torrey Road near Flint's Bishop Airport. Along with Whitmer was a...
Commentary: Facing enrollment and financial challenges, UM-Flint asks, what’s next?
By Paul Rozycki “Academic politics makes me yearn for the simplicity of the Middle East.” -Henry Kissinger Could the University of Michigan-Flint go the way of Auto World? Probably not. But there are more than a few who are worried that the Flint branch of the Ann...
UM-Flint administration lambasted for “bullying,” “chaos,” at UM Regents meeting as heated public comments critique “Strategic Transformation” and call for firing consultant
By Jan Worth-Nelson The University of Michigan Regents got an earful in public comments Oct. 20 from faculty and students concerned about the actions of UM-Flint Chancellor Debasish Dutta, controversial steps underway to respond to challenges on the Flint campus,...
“One University” faculty, staff and students rally for equity and saving liberal arts at UM – Flint
By Jan Worth-Nelson In an outdoor rally timed to correspond to the meeting of the University of Michigan Regents on the Flint campus Thursday, about 65 UM - Flint faculty, staff, alums and students gathered in chilly McKinnon Plaza to call for equity and fuller...
Education Beat: 15 Flint Board of Education candidates vying for Nov. 8 election; 8 responded to EVM request for info
By Harold C. Ford Fifteen candidates are running for five available seats on the Flint board of Education (FBOE) in the upcoming Nov. 8 election. Candidates are listed at the website of the Genesee County Clerk’s office. Nine candidates are running for three spots,...
An interview with Sheldon Neeley: “We’re going to continue down a path that I created and we have a blueprint for it”
Editors' Note: East Village Magazine conducted in-person interviews with both Mayor Sheldon Neeley and Karen Weaver, who are facing off in the Nov. 8 election -- Neeley for a second consecutive term, Weaver for a return to the office Neeley won from her by 205 votes...
An interview with Karen Weaver: “I am better qualified and I want to have an impact”
Editors' Note: East Village Magazine conducted in-person interviews with both Mayor Sheldon Neeley and Karen Weaver, who are facing off in the Nov. 8 election -- Neeley for a second consecutive term, Weaver for a return to the office Neeley won from her by 205 votes...
The East Village Magazine – October 2022
The October 2022 edition of The East Village Magazine is available for download and viewing here: [pdfjs-viewer url="https://www.eastvillagemagazine.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/EVM_Oct_22.pdf" attachment_id="32392" viewer_width=100% viewer_height=800px...
Addiction, life of boxer Taylor Duerr at heart of documentary with Flint roots screening Oct. 19
By Jan Worth-Nelson When Flint native filmmaker Michael Ramsdell got to know boxer Taylor "Machine Gun" Duerr at the Brighton gym where they both worked out, Ramsdell was coming off his last film project, a documentary about baseball star (also a Flint native) Jim...
New state park will bring “stability” and “open up the river to the community,” Michigan DNR Director says
By Tom Travis The Flint City Council approved a resolution Monday night to allow the State of Michigan Department of Natural Resources (DNR) to invest $30.2 million in establishing a state park along much of the Flint River. The park is envisioned to encompass 230...
Flint Council approves $8.6 million from ARPA funds to provide a $300 credit to every Flint water customer
By Tom Travis This article has been updated to include new developments in a press release from the Mayor's office on Friday afternoon, 9/30/22 - EVM Editors City council has passed an $8.6 million resolution, funded out of the $94 million ARPA (American Rescue Plan...
Village Life: Romance of city life sometimes falls short, but neighborly life can be full of grace
By Jan Worth-Nelson When I’m dying, will I be able to mutter to my grieving loved ones, hey! I’m glad I lived in Flint? I know, I know, macabre thought…but as fall crisps in with its inevitable melancholy reminders of the cycle of life and death, I find myself...
Flint Repertory Theatre kicks off 2022-23 season with Death of a Salesman
By Patsy Isenberg Arthur Miller’s 1949 Death of a Salesman opened Sept. 23 to a full house of enraptured theatergoers at Flint's Repertory Theatre (The Rep). For this opening night of the new season, food and drinks were served before the play began and a champagne...
Education Beat: Chaotic Ed Board meetings in September draw ire from Flint Schools staff
By Harold C. Ford “The whole is less than the sum of its parts.” –from Edgar Morin’s La Methode La Nature de la Nature, 2017 Only 55 seconds into the Flint Board of Education’s (FBOE) first of three September meetings – a Committee of the Whole (COW) meeting on Sept....
“Game changers” for City of Flint: Mayor touts blight, ARPA funds, proposed water credit, infrastructure
By Tom Travis This article has been updated to include the correct amount of the C.S. Mott Foundation grant towards the Hasselbring and the Brennan Community Centers from $300,000 to $750,000. The Hasselbring Center will receive $450,000 and the Brennan Center will...
Commentary: What’s at stake on the Nov. 8 ballot? Here’s a preview
By Paul Rozycki It’s common to refer to every upcoming election as “the most important election” of our times. Most of the time that’s just political rhetoric to get people out to vote. Yet, this Nov. 8 mid-term election may be the exception to that old rubric. Yes,...
The East Village Magazine – September 2022
The latest edition of The East Village Magazine is available for download and viewing here: [pdfjs-viewer url="https://www.eastvillagemagazine.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/EVM_Sept_22.pdf" attachment_id="31338" viewer_width=100% viewer_height=800px fullscreen=true...
“Their swift action and smooth response ensured the safety and availability of Flint’s drinking water was undisturbed” – EPA Region 5 Director Debra Shore
By Tom Travis On the heels of a major GLWA water line break in mid-August, a federal representative, EPA Region-5 Administrator, Debra Shore, toured the Flint Water Plant and praised the Flint Water Department staff. The EPA's Region 5 is the largest of its 10...
“I was tired of seeing the same thing – This is why I buy cars like this” 18th Back to the Bricks is in the books
By Tom Travis [This article has been updated to include new statistics about the 2022 Back to the Bricks event from Executive Director, Amber Taylor. Also, more photos have been added.] Five years ago James and Pam Bogart of Flushing were riding their Harleys near...
Commentary: The Tom Sumner Program leaves a history of civil conversation in an uncivil time
By Paul Rozycki After a decade and a half of giving Flint area listeners hours of civil and wide-ranging conversations in politics, music, science, writing, and the arts, Tom Sumner has decided to end his radio program. It has run on WFOV 92.1 FM in Flint. In his...
Education Beat : Tumult continues on Flint ed board as president, treasurer tossed
By Harold C. Ford “Here we go again.” – Joyce Ellis-McNeal after being removed as Flint Board of Education president, Aug. 17 The tumultuous nature of the Flint Board of Education (FBOE) was, once again, on full display at the panel’s 3.5-hour Aug. 17 meeting as Joyce...
“What’s next? What do we do with all this?” Tracee Glab, new FIA executive director, welcomes new era
By Tom Travis "The arts have meant a lot in terms of transforming my life. I grew up in the southwest Detroit, immigrant neighborhood -- mostly Italians, in the shadow of the Ford Rouge Plant. A lot of people that lived in my neighborhood worked at Ford or for...
Totem Books hosts Carrie Walling’s “Human Rights and Justice for All” book launch
By Paul Rozycki Carrie Booth Walling introduced her new book “Human Rights and Justice for All: Demanding Dignity in the United States and Around the World” at a well-attended kickoff event Thurs. Aug. 11, at Totem Books in Flint. Dawn Jones of ABC 12 TV conducted...
